Weatherman advices against rushed planting despite heavy rains
Farmers should not rush to plant crops before seeking appropriate advice, as the ongoing rains are likely to be poorly distributed.
According to the weatherman, the rains will reduce on Tuesday and most parts of the country will be dry on Wednesday.
Farmers in Central region have already started planting.
“There is expected late onset in come agricultural areas, which will bear a negative impact resulting to delayed planting and germination of crops thus farmers should liaise with the agricultural department in their areas on the kind of seeds to use,” said Mr Peter Ambenje, director meteorological services, in the monthly forecast.
Food security is expected to deteriorate over most parts of the country, especially the arid and semi-arid regions, which are expected to receive poor rainfall.
However, agricultural counties of Western, Nyanza, central Rift Valley, Central and parts of southeastern Kenya are expected to receive near normal to above normal rainfall.
DEPRESSED RAINFALL
The onset of the March-May rains will be delayed this year, and will likely begin in the third or fourth week of March in most areas.
“The farming communities should take advantage of the expected rains and maximise crop yields through appropriate land-use management,” he said.
At the same time, the Meteorological Department cautioned farmers in parts of southeastern Kenya, where rainfall is expected to be depressed, to get advice from the agriculture department on the appropriate crops to plant.
“Farmers in this part of the country should get advice on appropriate crops that are drought resistant to make the best of the anticipated poorly distributed and depressed rainfall,” said Mr Ambenje.
Depressed rainfall is expected over most parts of the country this month as the weather is likely to be characterised by sunny and dry conditions.
This is likely to persist in Northeastern, the Coast and some parts of southeastern and central Kenya regions.
Many farmers experienced crop failure in the previous season due to poor weather patterns.